And one of the largest stories in the last decade, which still looms, is the National Security Administration story, wherein Edward Snowden revealed that the U.S. government was monitoring data collected by big tech companies.

When these breaches happen, the work that comes to mind many times, for many people, is Dave Eggers’ novel “The Circle,” which debuted in 2013.

It’s a sort-of science fictional tale, but really more of the author’s imaginings of what our collective near-future could look like with a giant data-hungry-always-knowing-always-watching-wants-to-be-friends-with-all corporation as the main setting, where forced sharing of all information is the norm.

Though it is dystopian fiction, the book is so close to being real at times -- that it reveals some truths about how we treat each other in a digital age. How we treat privacy, data, the right to know, and the right to opt out.

The book, and recent news events, raise important questions: Who owns data and should it be protected?

It raises questions about where we are headed, as apps, smartphones, laptops, and all of our devices are constantly collecting and storing our personal data points.

Is our data safe? Will the results of that information be made public? In the digital age of wanting to know everything -- is knowing everything a good thing? What’s the balance between privacy and free platforms?

When we opt in, are we opting in forever?

And, honestly, will the majority (of users) gladly give away all privacy in order to keep free platforms free (i.e. here’s all my data, please do whatever you want with it, but keep Facebook free).

In the future, will there be an “off-the-grid” or unplugged time? Or will we always be “on?” More grandly, what do human rights look like in a digital age?

The future, and our present, is wrought with all of these questions. And those who handle data have ethical choices to make all the time.

As so many new startups form in the big data space, it will be interesting to see how a multitude of very young companies decide to deal with other people’s data, as they collect it.

How Big Data Works

As for how “big data” works, check out the short video below, which explains the concept. Big data is just data. A lot of it. Massive amounts of digital footprints we leave behind, while we’re on the Internet.